Fracking review ordered
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Fracking_review_ordered_05-29-2011.html
Posted: May 29
MICHAEL GORMLEY
NY Governor issues memo following Pa. accident
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has ordered an expanded environmental review of proposed “hydrofracking” for natural gas in New York after an accident in Pennsylvania caused a well to gush salty, chemically-tainted water for two days.
An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press directs the state Department of Environmental Conservation to review and learn any lessons from the April mishap in Pennsylvania’s Bradford County.
The memo dated Friday said the “blowout” raised issues about the controversial technology that need to be evaluated before New York decides whether to allow a major expansion of the potentially lucrative gas-extraction method, which has been assailed by some environmentalists as unsafe.
The memo was from Cuomo’s director of state operations, Howard Glaser, to Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens, a Cuomo appointee.
The April 19 accident in Pennsylvania briefly caused a handful of families living near the well to flee their homes as thousands of gallons of brine flooded across farm fields and entered a stream. Well cappers from Houston had to pump ground-up tires, plastic bits and other rubber material into the well to temporarily seal it.
Well operator Chesapeake Energy said the environmental damage from the spill was minimal, but temporarily suspended operations to investigate what went wrong.
New York’s review will include an on-site inspection by New York officials.
The findings will be part of New York’s environmental evaluation of using hydraulic fracturing to release natural gas from the Marcellus Shale deposit through much of New York’s Southern Tier. The final report is due July 1.
The gas drilling boom has been an economic engine in Pennsylvania, but it has been delayed in New York for the past three years as environmental groups have assailed hydraulic fracturing as a potential hazard to drinking water.
“Fracking” involves shooting huge volumes of water, laced with much smaller amounts of chemicals and sand, thousands of feet underground to release trapped gas. Some of the water then returns to the surface, tainted by substances like barium and salt that it picks up underground. By law, this wastewater must be disposed of deep containment wells or treated before it is released back into the environment.
Industry groups say the process is well regulated and safe.
The Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York had asked Cuomo to expedite the state’s review of fracking and allow permitting for gas exploration to proceed.